Initial consultation / Architect selection

In planning, things are currently going exactly as described by 11ant. We are very satisfied, not at all comparable with the two general contractors we had spoken to before. However, we had planned a large buffer in the budget, so in your place I would definitely ask for references to inquire about satisfaction with the results, the timeline, and adherence to the budget.

One topic is very important to me today from painful and especially costly experience: who will be responsible for construction management later? What experience does that person have? Possibly a construction-related apprenticeship before university studies? How often is he/she on the construction site? What is particularly important to him/her during construction execution?

We have built with an architect before... he was likeable, recommended, our style, we got along well immediately - but on the construction site he was useless (fear of heights on the scaffolding!), and most craftsmen did not take him seriously. The result was accordingly... but we only realized this much too late. One of the "renovation measures" was then handled by an architect who had previously completed a training as a roofer... a completely different level...

: How has it gone so far?

: How has it gone so far?

We have not yet made a final decision for an architect. :rolleyes:

We initially contacted several architects. Including some who have their office about 1 hour away from the plot. They either declined directly because they could not manage site supervision due to the distance, or they suggested that we build with a general contractor (GU).

At the same time, we contacted about 20 builders who have built with the architects we had shortlisted by mail and asked for a phone conversation. 15 responded and shared their experiences with us. There were several who had built with an architect + GU and were very dissatisfied. Some architects only do the design themselves and then outsource the site supervision to freelancers, so you cannot be sure of getting a good site manager (one builder reported that the architect had hired a Dr.-Ing. site manager for him who actually lives in England and would only be flown in sporadically o_O).

For us, the following criteria are now decisive:

[*]Good impression in the conversation
[*]Building style that we like
[*]Offer performance phases 1-8, i.e. with individual trade contracting (I also tend to exclude GU completely due to the partly very negative experiences)
[*]Do site supervision themselves or delegate to a permanent employee in their own office
[*]Good references

I know we are very slow and perhaps approached this somewhat over-intellectually, but I think that we were able to gather good insights especially in conversations with other builders that will help us in the long term.

I know we are very slow and maybe approached the matter a bit too analytically

That’s fine, not putting yourself under time pressure. From the purchase of the plot to the selection of the architect, we took 6 months. Then another good 8 months for the planning. 3 months waiting for approval and 11 months until moving in. Those who foresee better are less often at a disadvantage.

We are also building with an architect, but we have only just started, so I cannot say anything about the final result yet. We got stuck with the first "candidate" right away. What strongly influenced our decision:

- personal recommendation for this architect
- immediately likeable
- very pragmatic approaches, not exclusively an aesthete "the house has to function"
- he often directly hits our taste (also in his own apartment)
- he has a practical "background," so he also has hands-on experience in construction
- he will also take on construction management
- he has many years of experience and is well connected (knows many craftsmen in the region)
- he does not build to show off or advertise the result afterward. At the beginning, we did not know any of his previous projects (except for one extension). Meanwhile, we know several buildings by him (partly by chance, partly he showed them to us) – all are appealing and some were built for well-known clients in the region.

Not everything has gone perfectly so far either; his very pragmatic and sometimes chaotic approach bothers my organizational drive. But nevertheless, everything has happened as planned and predicted until now. So far, we would make the same decision again.